Antidisestablishmentarianism

Notes: This is my delayed-entry into the fandom. So kill me for abandoning ol' Harry for my first few good years. I had to warm up to it.

And so let's begin.

Prologue

3:00 AM. The cold darkness that surrounds the urban setting is a thick, gloomy taste similar to the crow feather flavor in that last box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. In the distance, there's the sound of a train whistle and some lone owls hooting a depressing nighttime cantata.

Disengage...disengage...disengage...

The boy wakes up on the ground, blearily and giving off the distinct air of someone who hasn't slept well for at least a decade, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and trying, best as he could to flatten the messy fringe of hair matting his forehead--the ones that haven't been singed off from the fire.

Wait. Since when had there been a fire?

And, moreover, what the hell was he doing on the ground?

Where am I? he asks himself, and then it is quite sudden that he realizes that he has no idea who he is, where he is, and how on earth he got there, save for a single word that seemed to resound in his brain, a word that clearly has nothing to do with the current state of things, but it's obviously quite important because it's the only thing he remembers, ringing, gong-like through his brain like a muffliato charm gone sour.

Severus.

There's a sudden tap on his shoulder, and he realizes that he isn't alone. Lifting up his head, he sees a soft-featured young man around twenty years old, irritation etched in every line on his premature forehead and completely out of his mind with frantic worry.

He doesn't get the chance the speak before his newly-found companion launches into an unnerving one-sided dialogue.

"Quick, we've got to get you out of here before those Slytherin agents catch us! Oh, Minerva's going to be absolutely infuriated--I knew I shouldn't have taken this watch..." he attempted, without much success, at raising his quarry off the damp ground, grunting in effort as he met with resistance.

He stood up by himself, confused but unwilling to be pushed around by this stranger.

"What are you doing? You don't even know my name."

"Your name? What do you mean I don't know your name? You're Regulus Black, aren't you? Now hurry up! I'll miss the meeting and it'll all be your fault!"

"Where are we going?" he gasped, as he felt himself being grabbed by the wrist and dragged into a run towards the end of the street. There was a pause -only for a second- as he felt a sharp rap on his head (something liquid-like similar to an egg yolk slid down his skull), "What I mean to say--oh, for God's sake, I don't know who you are!"

They stopped for another second, and then, in all seriousness, his kidnapper fell silent, as if he was debating whether or not the incredulity of the situation deserved to go this far.

Disengage...disengage...disengage...

"You...don't remember me?"

"No."

"Are you positive?" There was a frown on his face, now.

"Completely."

"Well..." he seemed a little disgruntled. "Just call me Grindelwald for the time being, then."

--

End of prologue.

Reviews would be helpful.